People Change
by writerchickidee
Summary: If he hadn't forced her to choose, maybe she wouldn't have left. Rated for brief language. Oneshot. RavenxRed X


**A/N:**

Not my best work, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

It doesn't spin off anything. It's just a one shot, so don't get too attached or anything.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own teen titans and I guarantee you that I never will.

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I thought I would never leave them. They were my family, my friends; they cared about me. I loved them, and they loved me; it was simple.

Then Robin made a mistake. He created the Red X suit, and he didn't tell us. I think I was angrier than the others. Even before the whole Slade thing and the end of the world, Robin had been my closest friend. I thought he trusted me as much as I trusted him, but he made that stupid suit and ruined everything. I forgave him for that eventually, but then the past came back to haunt us.

Red X. An excellent thief made only better by his costume, the costume Robin designed. He stole, we fought, he got away, we went home; it always happened the same way. But then our cocky thief finally got tired of the monotony, and he managed to catch me alone on a roof top with the others all scattered behind us in varying degrees of capture. I didn't stand much of a chance either, but he didn't run as soon as he trapped me; no, he stayed with me, and he talked.

Red X explained that he was an orphan, living on the streets, scavenging for food all the time because he could never get his fill. He elucidated that a strange man taught him to fight, taught him to steal. He was a good student, absorbing the information like a sponge, and finally he tried a heist of his own, and he succeeded. Over the years, he got better and better until he could afford his own apartment and buy as much food as he needed. Unfortunately, although he had enough money to last him a long while, he had become addicted to the thrill of thievery, and he didn't want to stop.

Crazily enough, he asked for my advice, and once he unbound my mouth, I gave it to him. I found that I actually enjoyed our conversation, especially the parts when he spoke. He had long ago turned off the scrambler that concealed his true voice, and I heard every note of his own beautiful tones; I could easily lose myself in that voice.

Meeting in secret every week, I helped him as best I could, and gradually Red X stopped appearing in the titan's lives. That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Even though Red X had eventually stopped stealing, he still broke into a few places, if for nothing else than to get my attention. So while I knew the truth, my team still thought of him as an enemy. He started coming to the tower to talk to me, and the criminal Red X hardly ever showed up in the city. As time progressed, Red and I became closer and closer until one day he pulled up his mask and kissed me before leaving my room.

I had yet to lay eyes on his face because we didn't want the other titans to barge in and see an unmasked man in the Red X suit. I learned so much about Red, and in turn, he learned about me. I let him get closer to me than anyone ever had before. I told him how it felt to be the daughter of a demon; I shared my worst fears, and he comforted me. Neither of us noticed, but we were slowly falling in love, falling so deep that there was no way we wouldn't get hurt when we hit the ground.

Our nights continued to end in kisses, be they for ten seconds or ten minutes. Eventually, I was so sure that no one would enter my room unbidden, that I persuaded him to take off his mask, and just to please me, he did it without complaint. For the first time in a long time, I was rendered speechless, and I had none of his weapons to blame. With his shaggy red hair and mischievous green eyes, he was the most beautiful person I had ever seen, much more handsome than Robin would ever be.

We had built up a routine by then; every night, Red X, or Alex if you prefer, came to the tower, and we would talk for a few hours unless there was a mission that I needed to be present for. He would kiss me goodnight and teleport away, returning the next night. Unfortunately for us, this routine became too predictable, and people began to notice.

As a fly, Beast Boy decided to drop in on us one night, and he was not happy with what he discovered. He was so shocked and angry and hurt that even with him as a fly, I could feel his emotions. As soon as I called him out, he turned back to his human form and began pelting us with questions, threatening to tell Robin and the others.

I convinced him that Alex was no longer a criminal and that I trusted him with my life. Beast Boy was immediately on our side, but he wasn't the best of secret keepers, and soon Cyborg and Starfire found out as well. After I had explained our unique situation, they as well deemed it ok for us to continue dating.

The only person we didn't tell was Robin. Though we didn't mention it to the others, we all knew why it was kept from him. He wouldn't support my decision; all he would see was a criminal. But I couldn't keep dating in secret either. So Alex started taking me out on the town; Robin knew I was with a boy, but we didn't give him the specifics.

Now, I was eighteen years old, the same age as Robin, and Red X was twenty. Our relationship was much more serious than it had been a couple years ago, and Red was trying to get me to move in with him. The one thing he never did was push me too far. If I told him I didn't want him to mention it again, he wouldn't. He didn't want to force me to choose between him and my team because he loved me.

He took me out almost every weekend, and finally Robin was tired of being kept in the dark. He trailed us, watched us on our date, and that night Alex put his mask back on. He had a client that wouldn't leave him alone, but he was finally going to put a stop to it. He never would have donned that costume again if it hadn't been for the stupid man who needed a thief to finish a job. Robin was outraged; he thought I didn't know who Alex's alter ego was. He thought I had been tricked, which brings us to present day.

"Raven, he's a criminal!" Robin was yelling, pointing a finger at Alex, who was without a mask and weaponless beside me.

"No…he's not…not anymore." I squeezed Red's hand.

"That's Red X! He's a thief; he needs to go to jail."

"He hasn't stolen anything for years," I argued calmly while the rest of the team looked on with worried faces.

"I saw him wearing his uniform _last night_!"

"A client wouldn't leave me alone; I took care of it last night. I told him I was done stealing," answered Alex calmly.

"Then why did you wear the suit?"

This time I spoke. "For the same reason you do; to protect the ones you care about."

"He doesn't care about you, Raven! He only cares about himself."

Red took a few furious steps forward. "I _love _her. I would never endanger her."

"He's a liar and a thief," Robin said to me again, his tone bordering on pleading. "He can't be trusted."

"People change, Robin," I replied softly. "Red X is a thing of the past. Alex is a completely different person now."

"You don't know what you're saying! Red X tricked you into this; he doesn't care about you."

Alex stepped back to my side, wrapping a protective arm around my waist. "Stop this, Robin; you're only hurting her."

"I'm going to hurt you," Robin threatened.

"Robin, please understand, friend Alex is no longer a bad man," Starfire interjected.

"He isn't a friend!"

"Man, come on, he hasn't done anything wrong in years," Cyborg added.

"How can you pick his side over mine?!" Robin shouted furiously.

"We're not on his side, man; we're on Raven's."

"Robin," I said, "Don't make me choose."

"It's the only way," he answered, somewhat more calm. "It's him or us, a lowlife thief or your best friends. You can't have both anymore."

I gazed around at all my friends; Starfire had tears running down her cheeks, Beast Boy was glaring at the ground, Cyborg was watching me carefully, and Robin stood straight and confident, awaiting my answer.

Then I glanced at Alex. He was staring at me, and there was so much love in his gaze that I don't know how I could stand looking at him. He wouldn't beg me to go with him, nor would he force me. Alex wanted me to choose, but he never would have asked me to. Because he knew that if he did, I wouldn't choose him. Now I understood why Starfire was crying.

I squeezed his fingers again, turning back to Robin.

"I'm staying with Alex."

The cocky look dropped off his face faster than one of Starfire's star bolts. "What?"

"I said I'm staying with Alex."

"Why?" he asked, sounding flabbergasted and furious.

"You asked her to choose," Alex replied. "You should have though about the consequences you would have to face if she picked me. Now it's too late."

"You bastard!" Robin, without pausing to think, leaped through the air, swinging his bo staff at the defenseless man.

I gathered my energy and focused on stopping him, snatching Robin away from Alex, who hadn't made a move to protect himself.

"Alex isn't the only one who has changed, Robin," I told him icily. "If you're willing to attack someone who did nothing to provoke you, you have changed for the worse."

I dropped him on the ground some feet away. "We're leaving now. Goodbye, Robin. Star, Cy, BB, I'll be in touch."

I created a portal, and still clutching each other's hand, Alex and I stepped into it, disappearing from the other's vision.

I thought I would never leave them, but I was wrong.

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**A/N: **So…yeah. Don't forget to review. If I don't know what's wrong, I won't be able to fix it, so you need to tell me. And if you don't have any constructive criticism, review anyway. 

Thanks, and I love you all.


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